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To Free the Stars

ebook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available

This white-knuckled conclusion to The Brilliance of Stars takes readers on a breathless adventure from the speakeasies of America to the Horse Guards Parade in London, an ancient cemetery outside Paris, and back to the Eastern European strongholds where the Vales' tragedy first began.

"Fate is fickle and the stars are silent, but I do know this: No matter how difficult the circumstances or how savagely the world tries to tear us apart, I am here with you."

Ten years have passed since Jack and Ivy, elite operatives for the secret agency Talon, rescued their friend Philip and completed their fateful mission. The 1920s are in full swing as American speakeasies thrive amid Prohibition, and despite the team's best efforts, the deadly cult, the Order of the Rising Moon, lives on in the shadows. Which is no surprise to Ivy; nothing has gone as she expected since that day after Poenari Castle.

When a wave of assassinations strikes world leaders, intel confirms the Order's involvement. Ivy holds them responsible for the tragedy that changed her life, and she is determined to find and destroy the villains once and for all—but she must do so before their relentless assassin eliminates his next target. Her.

Except, there's something oddly familiar about the way he moves, the way he anticipates each of her moves. It's as if he knows her. But that's not possible. Is it? Ivy will have to rely on every skill she's learned if she hopes to survive—and save those she loves. No matter the cost.

Bestselling author J'nell Ciesielski wraps up the Jack and Ivy novels with yet another thrilling adventure filled with glamorous espionage and a boundless romance.

  • A fast-paced historical adventure novel set during the roaring '20s
  • The second book in the Jack and Ivy duology
  • Includes discussion questions for book clubs
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      • Publisher's Weekly

        Starred review from June 26, 2023
        Ciesielski’s pulse-pounding, continent-hopping conclusion to the Jack and Ivy duology (which began with The Brilliance of Stars) takes readers to 1927 London, where Talon agent Ivy Vale is on assignment to prevent the assassination of a world leader by the Order of the Rising Moon, a centuries-old organization intent on taking over the world. When an Order agent attacks her, Ivy is shocked to recognize the man as her missing husband, Jack, who was presumed dead after plummeting from a Romanian cliff. Ivy’s quest to bring Jack back to himself takes the couple to rural Virginia, where Jack discloses that, after his fall, he was given mind-altering drugs by Order leader Helena Dragavei and forced to join her ranks. He and Ivy, with their fellow Talon agents, decide to face Dragavei head-on. All head to France to infiltrate a Parisian party that leads them to the Order’s underground hideout. Their search for Dragavei then takes them to her lair in Romania—and the most intense battle of their lives. All the while, the question of whether Ivy and Jack can get back what they had lingers. Ciesielski delivers truly memorable characters and high-stakes action rendered with remarkable realism. Readers will be riveted. Agent: Linda S. Glaz, Hartline Literary.

      • Library Journal

        June 1, 2023

        Ten years after defeating a great evil threatening Russia and losing her new husband in the process, Ivy Vale is pursuing a personal vendetta. Her rogue actions may jeopardize everything that Talon, a secretive agency founded to fight the United States' enemies, has worked centuries to create. With each enemy agent she hunts down, she loses a piece of herself, until she comes face to face with the impossible: the love of her life may still be alive and someone close to her may be a traitor. Ciesielski flips the old-school spy story on its head in this conclusion to her historical action and adventure romance duology (following The Brilliance of Stars), probing what it takes to redeem someone from a heinous past. Set in the 1920s, this novel is the Winter Soldier to the first book's Captain America-like adventure, delving deep into the darkness of the human psyche and contemplating how far each character will go to defeat evil and find forgiveness. VERDICT Action-packed and thought-provoking; recommend this to readers looking for something completely different in their historical romance.--Christine Barth

        Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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    • English

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